The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is seeking people to raise oysters in Virginia’s tidal waters this summer to help support oyster restoration in the bay. Those interested in helping can attend an oyster gardening workshop in Tappahannock or Gloucester Point this month.

The Gloucester Point workshop will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Tappahannock workshop will be next Thursday, July 21, also at 6 at June Parker Marina.

Registration is required, and a $25 fee helps offset the cost of the program. Participants can register online at www.cbf.org/vaoystergardening call 757-644-4125 or e-mail OysterGardener@cbf.org. These workshops provide everything necessary to grow oysters off a dock for eventual planting on sanctuary oyster reefs.

“There’s nothing more fun and rewarding than raising your own baby oysters to help restore the bay’s oyster population,” said CBF Virginia Oyster Restoration Manager Jackie Shannon. “Being an oyster gardener leads to cleaner water and more underwater life both in your local waters and the sanctuary reefs where the oysters are eventually planted.”

The process involves raising oysters in cages suspended in the water from a dock at home or a marina. For those who don’t live on the water, CBF can help find gardeners a public location.

Over the course of a year, gardeners raise oysters that filter water and provide habitat for aquatic life. After a year, CBF places the oysters on a Virginia sanctuary reef.